Thursday, September 13, 2018

Uranus, Missouri's New Newspaper Is the Uranus Examiner (Huh. Huh.)

A new weekly newspaper launching out of Uranus this week is causing a stink among onlookers and government officials in its immediate vicinity.

The newly minted Uranus Examiner, based in Pulaski County, Missouri, which is approximately 100 miles west of St. Louis near Fort Leonard Wood, will fill the gaping hole left in the local media landscape by the sudden closure of the Waynesville Daily Guide on Friday.

As reported by the rather appropriately call-lettered KY3 station in Springfield, Uranus Examiner managing editor Natalie Sanders announced the new publication and its eye-catching name Wednesday afternoon at a chamber of commerce luncheon. (Sanders previously held that same position at the Waynesville Daily Guide.)

Curiously, however, Sanders' remarks as aired by KY3 focused not on the chuckle-inducing "Uranus" part of the name, but rather the boring old "Examiner" part.

"We had thought about 'constitution,' but most of our, the people who love us, and who were part of coming up with the name, liked the 'examiner' better," Sanders explained to the group blandly.

The effort is backed financially by Louie Keen, the so-called mayor of Uranus — a group of businesses along Highway 44 that includes the Uranus Fudge Factory and other popular roadside stops. The publication is meant to help market the many exciting things to do in Uranus, as well as report local news and print legal notices, much as a standard newspaper might.

But not everybody is happy about the paper in Uranus. After the weekly's name was announced at the luncheon, Waynesville Mayor Luge Hardman (yes, "Hardman") stood up and requested the microphone, expressing her displeasure.

"No. I'm sorry. But, the innuendo of that title puts my city up for public ridicule, and I will not be a part of it," Hardman reportedly said.

Hardman went on to suggest that the "Pulaski County Examiner" would have been a better name for the venture. As it stands, Hardman says she will not be posting the legal notices the city of Waynesville is required to publish in the new paper, and will instead post them in the less colorfully named Dixon Pilot or Laclede Record.

Darrell Todd Maurina, who owns the online-only Pulaski County Daily News, also expressed disapproval of the new paper's name.

"If Louie Keen wants to pick up the slack and provide a media product to people in this community who want print media, I want to see that happen," Maurina said. "I want to see it succeed. That name does not indicate a serious newspaper."

Does no one have a sense of humor in Uranus?

Sanders, meanwhile, is sticking by the paper's name, insisting that it is important that Uranus is represented since it has a large stake in it. She says the paper should be taken seriously.

Here's hoping this whole situation gets sorted out soon, and that the Examiner is able to start serving its community as intended.

After all, those new recruits at Fort Leonard Wood, who spend all their days pitching tents, certainly deserve to know about all the fun they can have in Uranus — whether a Hardman ends up being involved or not.

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